Roasted Vegetables with Muhammara Sauce

Ingredients

• For the Sauce:
• 2 Red Bell Peppers, roasted, peeled and deseeded
• 1 Bunch Scallions (5 or 6)
• 2 tsp Ancient Halaby Middle Eastern Chile Blend
• 1 cup Roasted Walnuts
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp Pomegranate Molasses or Honey
• ½ cup of Olive Oil
• Salt to taste
• For the Roasted Vegetables:
• 1 head Broccoli, cut into even medium-sized florets
• 1 head Cauliflower, cut into even medium-sized florets
• 4- 6 Sweet Peppers
• 1- 2 Red Onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 head Garlic, peeled and cloves removed
• 1 can Chickpeas
• Olive Oil
• Salt

Steps

1. Roasted Vegetables:

1. Preheat oven to 400℉.
2. Toss broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peppers, onion and garlic cloves into a large mixing bowl. Toss with salt and a liberal coat of olive oil.
3. Spread onto parchment coated sheet pan or cookie sheet. Don’t overcrowd, use two baking sheets if necessary.
4. Roast for 10–15 minutes until vegetables begin to get brown around the edges.
5. Add drained chickpeas in the last few minutes of cooking to warm.
6. While vegetables are cooking, make the sauce:

1. Blend all sauce ingredients EXCEPT THE OLIVE OIL in a food processor or high powered blender until pureed into a paste.
2. Add olive oil in the last few pulses.
3. Add salt to taste.
4. Spoon Muhammara onto serving platter and scatter vegetables on top.

Things to remember

• For the Vegetables:
• Sweet peppers are small colorful peppers often sold pre-bagged in the produce section in the summertime. They are great for tossing on the barbeque.
• For even cooking, it is always a smart plan to rotate your sheet pans 180 degrees halfway through roasting (most ovens have uneven heat back to front and side to side)
• Add the drained chickpeas in the last 3–5 minutes of roasting as they are already cooked
• For the Sauce:
• You can find roasted walnuts in the bulk section of your grocery store (or buy raw and roast them yourself)
• Pomegranate molasses is a sweet reduced pomegranate syrup and can be found in Middle Eastern markets or gourmet grocery stores. It lasts indefinitely in a dark, cool dry location in the cabinet and is a versatile condiment to have on hand
• For easily peeled, deseeded and roasted peppers: Roast whole peppers for 10–15 minutes in a 400℉ oven until soft. Remove from oven and immediately place into a ziplock bag or closed container. After they cool, the skin will lift easily and the seeds will also remove easily
• Olive oil is added last as prolonged blending can release bitter flavors